Tag Archives: fleet management

As a business owner, you’re always looking for ways to save money and increase the efficiency of your company’s operations. Fortunately, today’s marketplace offers you ways to outsource your fleet management and take advantage of the benefits that offers, whether you’re a huge operation or small one.

Consider these 3 advantages of outsourcing fleet management. Ask yourself if your business could benefit from simplifying the management of its company vehicles through outsourced fleet management. Also think about implementing these advantages as soon as possible. Outsourcing fleet management is best done before your company’s fleet becomes complicated to manage and begins to take up a significant portion of your time.

1. Be efficient.

Optimal efficiency results from task specialization and you don’t specialize in managing a vehicle fleet. Fleet management is best done by those who make it their livelihood. If you outsource your vehicle fleet to a group of professionals who specialize in the logistical, legal, and financial challenges of managing a company’s transportation and shipping needs, you relieve yourself of handling an aspect of your business that is best left to an expert fleet management firm of professionals who focus on only one task.

In the end, your productivity and bottom line profits will increase after you streamline your management duties to include only those areas in which you are knowledgeable. A good fleet management firm listens to your goals and customizes logistical solutions to meet your needs.

2. Focus on what you do best.

You started your company with one aim in mind: To do your best. Whether it’s creating a product or providing a service, focusing on your goals and strengths is the best way to achieve your goal. Spending time managing superfluous aspects of your business distracts from your main pursuit and detracts from your company’s potential. Leaving details such as transportation logistics in the hands of an outside firm lets you puts the time saved into improving your company’s products and services. Don’t lose sight of your major focus amidst the challenges that result from your business’s growth.

3. Expertise

A fleet management expert has the knowledge and experience in transportation logistics to boost the efficiency of your operations. Even though as a successful business owner, you demonstrate your ability to multitask and excel every day, as your company grows, giving a task such as transportation to a professional gives you greater flexibility to focus on other aspects of business operations. In the best interests of your company, consider relying on the expertise of a seasoned fleet manager, and entrust your vehicle operations to a group that ensures that your vehicle fleet carries out the everyday tasks of your company smoothly and with flawless proficiency.

When making a decision regarding your company’s fleet management, carefully consider these 3 advantages of outsourcing fleet management and envision the potential benefits outsourcing can bring to your business.

About the author:

Robert J. Hall is president of Track Your Truck, a leader in GPS vehicle tracking systems and fleet management software for small and midsized companies.

Technology is moving at a rapid pace, and the days of companies keeping records on paper only are gone. Trucking is highly regulated, so having the necessary paperwork in order at all times is one of the most important aspects of business for trucking companies. Companies should use software programs for fleet management, invoicing, dispatch management, freight management and more. There are many software programs available to truckers and it can be difficult to figure out which ones will work best for your company.

What Your Trucking Software Should Do?

There are many things you need your freight software to do. Some software programs are designed to perform a single task, while others can be used for multiple functions. Whether your software is designed for freight management or invoicing, you should be able to access the Internet through the software. The interface should be easy for you to use so that you don’t become frustrated and quit using it. Some company owners prefer to use web-based software so they don’t have to worry about carrying around disks in their trucks or installing the program on multiple computers. This is especially important for owner-operators who do their bookkeeping while they are one the road.

Trucking companies who are looking to streamline their record keeping and have everything in the same place should consider a trucking software program that is complete. The program should have separate tabs for accounting, dispatching and reporting so it’s easy to access just the information you need without having to sort through all of your records to find it.

The dispatch management section should have a section that lists all of your active loads so that you can view and manage them. You should be able to modify your entry or add details to each load later because all of the load details may not be available when you first enter the load into the program. You should also have the ability to create duplicate loads. This is especially handy if you haul for the same companies and run the same routes often. The trucker who will be delivering the load should be able to log in to the fleet management system at least enough to view either the load he is currently hauling or all the loads that are available to him.

You also need to have accounting software to run your business. This software may be part of the complete program you are using to manage your fleet or it could be a completely separate program. This program is useful for tracking and handling client information. Printing invoices, keeping track of payroll for employees and setting credit limits for clients are some of the functions of a good accounting program.

Things to Remember When Looking at Software Programs

When you’re looking for software programs for your company, make sure you choose programs that are easy to use and help you manage your business more efficiently. It’s best if your program can be understood by any normal person because your drivers will probably be using it to input their own information and having information entered into the system incorrectly can be a huge headache and take hours to correct. It’s best to ask other truckers for advice about which programs work best for their companies. Trucking is a unique business and software that works well for other businesses may not be useful for trucking company owners.

The main goal of trucking software is to help you track all aspects of your business. Knowing more about your business and the customers you serve helps you predict future costs and run your business as efficiently as possible.